Bath's late show stuns Quins
Bath take control of pool with win over rivals
Winger Joe Maddock stunned Harlequins fans with a last-minute try to give Bath a 24-18 win and the upper hand in their European Challenge Cup pool.
Quins fly-half Adrian Jarvis, preferred over former All Black Andrew Mehrtens, kept his side in touch with six penalty goals.
But, with Bath leading 19-18 and the clock ticking down, Maddock burst over to give the visitors a 24-18 win ahead of next week’s return match at the Recreation Ground.
Bath winger Nick Abendanon scampered over in the 10th minute to give the visitors an early lead, and despite losing veteran fullback Matt Perry to injury, extended their lead through the boot of Ollie Barkley.
Abendanon added a second try on the half-hour mark, and Barkley and Adrian Jarvis (three) swapped penalty goals as Bath took a 16-9 lead into the break.
Jarvis kicked his fourth, fifth and sixth goals to give the home side the lead for the first time in the match, but it lasted barely a minute as Barkley slotted his third.
Quins coach Dean Richards threw on his entire bench in a desperate attempt to steal a victory, but it was left to the rugged Maddock to punch a hole in the tiring home defence in the last minute of regulation time.
At Sixways Stadium, Worcester’s front-row did all the damage as the Warriors cruised to a 29-0 defeat of Albi in pool five.
Back-rower Will Bowley, prop Darren Morris and hooker Aleki Lutui scored three of their side’s five tries, and the win means the winners of the Worcester-Clermont Auvergne clash at Sixways in the second weekend of 2007 will have at least one foot into the Cup quarter-finals.
Worcester opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Bowley, and winger Mark Tucker’s effort moments later ensured a long day at the office for the French minnows.
Former Wales prop Morris was the next home player to trundle over the try-line, and the penalty try that handed the Warriors a bonus point took the score to 24-0 moments after the resumption.
In pool three, leaders Brive smashed Italian visitors Petrarca 78-18, with 19-year-old Alexis Palisson scoring a hat-trick of tries in an embarrassingly one-sided affair.
Fijian winger Norman Ligairi added a brace of tries, with outside-half Maxime Petitjean converting eight of the French club’s 12 scores.
Petrarca were staring at a 47-3 score line at the break, but scored through centre Martin Acuna and back rower Andrea Bresolin to at least get into double figures.
Saracens fly-half Glen Jackson bagged 24 points as the English club hammered GRAN Parma 71-16 at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
Jackson scored a try in each half and added seven conversions in a one-sided affair. Saracens scored 11 tries in all, with hooker Matt Cairns and winger Kamile Ratuvou also chiming in with doubles. Parma winger Antonio Mannato
scored the visitors’ only try and New Zealander Rima Wakarua added four goals.
In Italy, Clermont Auvergne beat Viadana 14-9, with the French club’s Fijian flyer Vili Delasau scoring the only try of the match. Viadana’s Calvin Howarth and Clermont’s Alexander Peclier added three penalty goals each.
